Wisdom

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My son(daughter) be wise and make my heart glad.  Proverbs 27:11

We all want our children to be wise and to make good life decisions.  We often offer them more wisdom than they want.  Sometimes they listen and heed us but more often they probably think we are weird or just not up with the times and don't understand, so they go ahead and follow their own wisdom,  what they think will work.

But what about us?  God's vast wisdom is available to us freely (James 1:5), do we seek him, our heavenly Father, when making life decisions, even small ones, or do we lean on our own limited wisdom? That is quite an important question to ask.  One of my favourite verses is found in Proverbs 3:5-7 and it says this, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you the path to take."   It's pretty clear advice to God's people.  So often we don't do that because when passion is involved we can make some really poor choices.

Earlier this year we were thinking about how we wanted to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. We thought a European river cruise would be great but then we saw the struggles going on in Europe  with refugees etc and we decided against it.  HOWEVER, we recently received a brochure from one company offering really good deals, we got excited, even went to the travel agent and began to lock some things in, but we did involve God.  We prayed that God's wisdom would prevail: if details all fell into place over the weekend we would go ahead, if not, we would cancel.  Well, details did not fall into place and we cancelled.  We were a little disappointed, until two days later terrorism reared its ugly head again, this time in Belgium, and we felt glad to have followed God's wisdom.

In reading details surrounding Jesus' trial we see clearly how passion can cause people to make very wrong decisions. They put Jesus before Pilate who found no wrong in him but sent him to Herod to make sure.  Herod found no wrong in him and sent him back to Pilate.  He put it to the crowd, "I find nothing worthy of death has been done by him.  I will therefore chastise him and release him.  .....And they all cried out at once saying, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas." Luke 23:13-24.  Three chances were given, three choices made...."crucify him".

In their passion they chose Barabbas, a terrorist; one convicted of insurrection against the government  and murder.   They chose instead to crucify Jesus, the most innocent man of all time.  Yes, we know God's hand was in this to bring about our salvation but it is a clear example of how passion can cause us to make very crazy decisions.

Will you choose to commit your decisions to God and follow his wisdom to make his heart glad?

Prayer:  Father God, forgive me for the times I have gone my own way, relying on my own wisdom.  Help me to remember to hold things loosely and ask your wisdom in life decisions. Amen

Crisis

But you O Lord God are a God full of compassion...Psalm 86:15

Do you ever wonder how you would react in a crisis? In this lead up to Easter I am thinking again of how the disciples and other followers of Jesus reacted and asking myself "what would I have done?"

Jesus had made no secret of the fact that he was about to be betrayed and given over to hostile authorities to "go the way that had been determined" for him (Luke 22:21-22). Peter swore that he would be loyal, stand with him through thick and thin but he had a lot to learn about himself.  Jesus knew that Peter would fail and he pre-warned him but he also said "I have prayed for you that your faith would not fail" (Luke 22:33-34).

So what did Peter do in the ensuing crisis?  At first he was 'strong' and brash. When the arresting party came he took a sword and cut of the ear of the servant of the high priest.  Jesus healed the ear said "Permit this (to happen)." He knew his time had come.  Peter followed on and watched from a distance in the courtyard.  He was recognised as a follower of Jesus by three people over the course of an hour or two and each time he denied that he even knew him.  It was a dangerous time, others had fled but he stayed.  He thought he was the strong one. When he realised his weakness in standing with Jesus, and his utter failure, he went from that courtyard and wept, a broken man.

At the cross were John with Mary the mother of Jesus and 2 other Marys.  No doubt lost in grief over the events of the past few hours and now watching the agony of his death on the cross.  The worst kind of death imaginable and to a man who was blameless in every way.  They stood close enough to hear Jesus speak, committing the care of his mother to his friend John.

On the first day of the week, after the sabbath had been kept, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb where Jesus had been laid to anoint his body but the tomb was empty.  She ran to tell the others and Peter and John came running to see if it was true, and seeing that it was they took off again to report back to the others but Mary stayed in the garden near the tomb and there she had her own special encounter with the risen Lord.  In her crisis she pressed in, stayed close and Jesus met with her (John 20).

In times of crisis, grief and sorrow we have different reactions and Jesus understands.  Some are angry in their pain and loss, accusing God of not caring and "How could he do this?" Others, like Mary stay in a place where Jesus is able to comfort them and speak to them.  She had questions, she didn't understand it all, but she lingered to be near him and he met with her.

What will you do?  No matter what your response is, Jesus will still love you, but if you tuck in to him you will have the benefit of his comfort.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that even in my darkest times you will come to comfort me. Help me to stay humble, trusting you in my pain.  Amen

Underneath

The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms...Deuteronomy 33:27

Recently I  took a weekend trip to Christchurch with my sister, my niece and great niece to see Cirque du Soleil's final ever performance of Quidam after 20 years of performing around the world.  I spent a lot of the evening shaking my head in unbelief at the feats of strength and acrobatic skills that would have taken hours and hours to perfect.  The most heart-stopping act came close to the end when men stood on shoulders, three high then a team that I call a 'human trampoline' hurled a girl into the air and she landed upright on the shoulders of those men never missing a beat.  Prior to that she had been tossed to and fro, hither and yon by so many different people it was difficult to keep up.

(No photography allowed in Cirque so this picture is not them but something similar.)

As I watched all of this I thought about the absolute trust these acrobats had to have in each other in so many ways; not to mention the equipment that they used and the behind the scenes people who worked the equipment.  Such an exercise of total and fearless trust - in their fellow man.

This is the kind of trust that our heavenly Father would like to see from us as we put ourselves in his hands. Perhaps you are facing what seems to be an insurmountable hurdle or a huge disappointment, maybe you feel God challenging you to step out into a new area of ministry and you are so afraid to fail.  He is our refuge, the eternal God, the one who is in us and with us and all around us.  He has promised that he will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), he has said that if we need wisdom we are to ask and it will be given liberally (James 1:5).  He is all we need and if we fall, then underneath are the everlasting arms.  He gives us a soft place to fall and a place to hide while we heal.  His faithfulness is so amazing as written in this wonderful old hymn by Annie Johnson Flint

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men,
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

Will you think on the truth of His word and trust yourself afresh to His promises and find the joy of scaling new heights with Him who has called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Prayer:  Mighty and faithful God, thank  you that I am your child and you are my Father.  Help me to return to full trust in your wisdom and faithfulness.  Amen

Get Real

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.  Hebrews 4:13

It's funny what one thinks about at times.  I was sitting looking at the units behind us and remembering how, not many months ago, I was watching this building under construction and now it's occupied by lovely new neighbours.

I was particularly thinking about the roof and the layers that are now hidden beneath the iron.  The trusses went up, pre-formed and then each was secured firmly by builders.  Later it was covered by layers of insulation, and what looked like plastic wrap, and then the roofers came and covered it up.  Later the electricians came and threaded an incredible maze of wires, not only for power and TV,  telephone and internet but also for call buttons in case we ever need help.  Yes, lots is hidden under that roof!  It will keep out the rain and the cold and offer protection from the sun.

We humans have something in common with roofs.  We have a nice clean 'roof' that we show the world, yet hidden underneath may be hidden many layers of 'stuff' that protect us from really being seen for who we are.  Why do we hide?  Usually because we are afraid that "if they really knew what I was like" or if they knew what I had done", they wouldn't like me.

If you find yourself thinking these kind of thoughts I have a question for you.  Do you really think that you are unique in having 'a past'.  I have news for you!  We all have things that we are ashamed of to one degree or another because God says that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and if we say we have not sinned the Bible says we are calling God a liar (1 John 1:10).

Trying to hide things from people and from God is such a useless waste of energy.  People can often see through us and mostly love us anyway (if they are walking in the love of God), and God knows all about us and loves us anyway.  Remember what he sent Jesus to suffer and shed his blood for?  So that we might have his righteousness and not have to worry about our own 'goodness' any longer.  So let's get real with God and with others and save all that energy we use on keeping up appearances.  Your honesty and transparency about your past may just help someone else get free of their big cover up too.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, forgive me from trying to hide my shame from you, thank you that you know me inside out and love me anyway.  Forgive me for being afraid to be known for who I really am with others.  Help me to get real and be free from trying to be something I am not. Amen